1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the treatment of patients with lung diseases, and more particularly, to systems and methods for planning diagnostic and treatment procedures.
2. Description of Related Art
Lung cancer has an extremely high mortality rate, especially if it is not diagnosed in its early stages. In order to provide a diagnosis, a patient's lungs first undergoes imaging, for example, by using diagnostic tools such as computed tomography (CT) scans, to detect small lesions and nodules in the lung. Such scans may be used not only on those suspected of having the disease, but also on those at higher risk for early detection of the disease.
To confirm the diagnosis of the disease in the patient, biopsy and cytological examinations may be required to further identify the location and the extent to which these lesions and nodules are present before any treatment can be undertaken. In this regard, tools, such as bronchoscopes, biopsy devices, and the like, are navigated within the lungs to a treatment site. Using the biopsy device, the surgeon removes sample tissue from the lung at the treatment site to be tested and identified either as cancerous or non-cancerous. As biopsy is an invasive procedure, improvements are continually being sought to minimize trauma to the patient.